Netherlands Accessible Travel Guides & Websites

Here are some helpful resources for planning an accessible trip to the Netherlands.

Books

Wheelchair accessible romantic B&B’s in Holland by Eelke Kelderman. It’s in dutch but is a great resource for finding lovely accessible accommodation in the Netherlands. I reckon with all the photos and the help of google translate or a dutch dictionary you can understand what each accommodation has to offer. B&B’s in Holland by Eelke Kelderman The website is www.eelkedroomt.nl also in dutch but if your computer has a translation function you’ll be able to access it.

Rick Steve’s book Easy Access Europe (this guide has access info for parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and the UK). It was helpful for getting a general idea of the accessibility situation in the Netherlands. The book covers Amsterdam and Haarlem only, the section on Amsterdam would have come in useful for choosing which areas and attractions I might have visited. I didn’t actually make it to the beautiful city.

Websites

Accessible Travel Netherlands have a very informative website with accessible travel ideas throughout the Netherlands. www.accessibletravelnl.com

The website Accessible Amsterdam is a helpful resource with all sorts of access information about public buildings, transport, hotels, wheelchair rental etc.

Amsterdam Tourist Office has a short section for disabled travellers IAmsterdam

Wheelchair Travel Noordwijk

My wheelchair travel Noordwijk experience in the wintery springtime. I chose this location for its accessible beaches and opportunities for wheelchair biking through the dunes on car free cycle paths. It’s also near to Keukenhof and the famous dutch flower fields too.

Accessible Dunes Car Free Path

At both ends of the promenade in Noordwijk you come to the Fietspad (car free cycle path) through the dunes. It’s lovely and peaceful rolling through the grassy dunes and the surface is perfectly smooth. The fietspad from the north end is fairly flat, while the one from the south has some small hills.

Noordwijk Accessible Beaches & Mobility Scooter Rally

Noordwijk beach is over the dunes from the promenade. The wheelchair access at the beach is great. There are wide concrete walkways down to the beach at various points. Each beach station has a sign which shows facilities and access. Some of them have beach wheelchairs. For info on availability and location of beach wheelchairs see this link http://noordwijk.org/en/forum/9075/beach-wheelchairs-in-noordwijk.htm

Wheelchair biking along the seafront in Noordwijk, what synchronicity that we stumbled upon a convoy of 150 flower garland festooned mobility scooters! Each one decorated with daffodils. They had a police escort and were just on their way for some lunch on the beach after an incredible journey.

Accessible Hotel Noordwijkerhout

This hotel is a bit corporate for my taste (well it is a conference centre). I chose it because it is a great location for visiting Keukenhof, the flower fields and Noordwijk (but only if you have a car as it’s on the outskirts) plus I got a cheap deal on laterooms.com. There are lifts to all floors and I asked for a wheelchair accessible room. The room was modern and spacious. In the bathroom there was an accessible sink, although the mirror above it was not wheelchair height. I thought the shower was too squeezed in between the bath and toilet and transferring might be tricky for some. It did have a shower seat and grab bars though.

Zaanse Schans Wheelchair Access

Zaanse Schans is a traditional style dutch tourist village north of Amsterdam set in beautiful scenery. It’s wheelchair accessible and well worth a visit.

Plenty to see, including museums such as the antique clock museum, the Zaans Museum and Verkade Paviljoen (Dutch Cookie Museum ), a clog factory plus a Distillery and Tasting room, quaint little shops and 2 accessible restaurants: The Pancake restaurant and the Museum restaurant.

The surface in the village of Zaanse Schans is flat brick tiles. The path around the windmills is smooth tarmac. There is a disabled toilet in the visitor centre and 2 disabled parking bays outside . Two Wheelchairs are available at the visitor centre so these might be best booked in advance at busy times. www.zaanseschans.nl

Windmill Wheelchair Walk

There is a smooth surfaced path alongside the windmills and a cycle path running parallel below. If you are visiting a windmill take the top path. For a relaxing wheelchair walk take the one below as its wider and less busy. The photos below don’t really capture it that well as the weather went a bit dull.

Wheelchair Accessible Windmills

There are 2 wheelchair accessible windmills at Zaanse Schans: The Sawmill ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ (the Young Sheep) and ‘De Huisman’ (the House man).

We visited the sawmill and saw a fascinating 10 minute video showing how they reconstructed the windmill. Inside the actual windmill there is a lift for wheelchair users which takes you up inside to see the amazing workings and down to the basement to see a mini exhibition. They have a small cafe and a few chickens in the yard. The sawmill staff were friendly, helpful and very informative.